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Shipping News

Jack Nicklaus's yacht to anchor here
COME April 12, there will be something special docked in Singapore. The elusive Sea Bear, belonging to Golfer of the Century Jack Nicklaus, will be here as part of Boat Asia 2012 at Marina at Keppel Bay.
Baltic index rises further on firm capesize rates
The Baltic Exchange's main sea- freight index, which tracks rates to ship dry commodities, rose on Monday for the third straight day as rates for large capesize vessels stayed firm on strength in iron ore activity.
Maersk expects fall in Asia-Europe trade
Maersk Line is betting European efforts to escape a recession this year will fail as the world's biggest shipping company shifts its business away from the debt-plagued region.
Tanker rates expected to decline 42% next quarter
On energy, emissions and piracy

Strait Talk

A big, missed opportunity
IT OUGHT to have been possible this week to report significant progress in efforts to eliminate Somali piracy. Instead, a major international conference on Somalia last Thursday was a huge disappointment to the global shipping industry.

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Shipping News

Jack Nicklaus's yacht to anchor here
COME April 12, there will be something special docked in Singapore. The elusive Sea Bear, belonging to Golfer of the Century Jack Nicklaus, will be here as part of Boat Asia 2012 at Marina at Keppel Bay.
Baltic index rises further on firm capesize rates
The Baltic Exchange's main sea- freight index, which tracks rates to ship dry commodities, rose on Monday for the third straight day as rates for large capesize vessels stayed firm on strength in iron ore activity.
Maersk expects fall in Asia-Europe trade
Maersk Line is betting European efforts to escape a recession this year will fail as the world's biggest shipping company shifts its business away from the debt-plagued region.
Tanker rates expected to decline 42% next quarter
On energy, emissions and piracy

Strait Talk

A big, missed opportunity
IT OUGHT to have been possible this week to report significant progress in efforts to eliminate Somali piracy. Instead, a major international conference on Somalia last Thursday was a huge disappointment to the global shipping industry.

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Shenzhen January container volume falls 7.8pc to 1.93 million TEU Hanjin to take first of nine 13,000-TEU ships for Asia-Europe service CMA CGM reshuffle of Asia-US east coast loops means weekly three departures Long Beach to lease Middle Harbour property to OOCL in dock expansion Napier benefits from Auckland dock strike, quarterly box volume up 9pc Jilin province boasts of 1 million tonnes more grain silo capacity in 2011 Anhui province to spend US$4.3 billion more on road building this year Exiting MISC continues to wind down Asia services and dispose of tonnage MISC's box shipping unit wracks up US$1.66 billion in losses over 5 years Charleston to receive US$180 million in federal earmarks for dredging Inchcape shipping launches maritime agency operations in Jeddah Ascendancy of China's middle class will add demand on US food sector China Daily trumpets eco attack on Hong Kong Airlines over dolphins LA airport cargo volume drops 5pc to 135,383 tons in January Xinjiang Autonomous Region international flights to total 37 this year

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Govt set to fix responsibility of erring armed ship guards on flag state Hapag-Lloyd commences fixed-day block train service between Dadri & Mundra SAI Aerocean, PSP join hands for providing boat transportation services APSEZ receives LoI for developing dry bulk terminal at Kandla Port PMEAC for raising excise, service tax back to pre-crisis levels Update your Data on Foreign Trade Policy, Customs Law & Exchange Control Regulations- Part-3 - By M. Sreedharan

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FEBRUARY 28, 2012
Denmark: drivers' driving licenses suspended and large fines for two-minute delay Drivers working for a road haulage firm recently received heavy fines and had their driving license provisionally suspended when they rolled off ferries and could not immediately f... Ceva appoints new managing director in Italy Ceva Logistics, a leading global supply chain management company, has appointed Giuseppe Chiellino as managing director of Ceva Logistics in Italy. He will be in charge of all cont... Fiege Logistik providing services for SR Technics Fiege Logistik (Schweiz) AG, a wholly-owned Swiss subsidiary of the German Fiege group, has signed a five-year contract with the aviation customer SR Technics. According to the agr... Agility wins long-term contract from Deutsche Messe AG The global logistics provider Agility has been awarded a long-term contract with Germany's trade fair organiser Deutsche Messe AG. Under the terms of the contract Agility will be D... Norbert Dentressangle renews contract with Honda Trading Europe The French service provider Norbert Dentressangle (ND) has been retained for a further three years to provide warehousing and transport services by Honda Trading Europe. Honda Trad... Evergreen raising rates The Taiwanese shipping company Evergreen Line is implementing rate increases for the Far East (including Japan)/Indian Sub-Continent to Europe and Mediterranean westbound trade a... New port operations manager in Wilhelmshaven The German port services provider Niedersachsen Ports GmbH & Co has chosen Ernst Franz to be operations manager of its Wilhelmshaven branch. He is responsible for the managemen... No interest in cargo zone at Plovdiv airport The Bulgarian government has terminated the concession for the construction of the cargo zone at Plovdiv airport, due to the lack of tenders. The time limit for the r... First autonomous trains in Western Australia in 2014 Rio Tinto, a leading international mining group headquartered in the UK, is to run the world's first automated long-distance heavy-haul rail network, with a USD 518 million investm... Turkish Cargo: Antalya branch now offers cold storage units service Turkish Cargo has invested in the refurbishment of its main building in Antalya and recently installed and phased in a brand new cold storage unit there. The handling office and co... Daimler and Foton received business license for JV The German vehicle manufacturer Daimler and its Chinese partner Beiqi Foton Motor Co Ltd have received the business license for their joint venture, Beijing Foton Daimler Automotiv... A.P. Moller-Maersk releases 2011 annual report Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk Group reported that its 2011 revenue increased by 7% to USD 60.2 billion (2010: USD 56.1 billion), due to higher oil prices and container volumes but o... Air New Zealand reports massively reduced profit Air New Zealand recently reported that its normalised earnings before taxation amounted to around EUR 20.7 million for the six month period ended 31 December 2011. This e... Contargo takes over the forwarding company Pöhland Contargo GmbH & Co has taken over the Döhlau (Germany)-based Pöhland group and received approval of the move from Germany's federal cartel commission. Pöhland is a neutral oper... French environment and transport minister resigns The French environment and transport minister, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, resigned on 23 February and symbolically returned the ministry key to Prime Minister François Fillon. She... Panalpina appoints new CFO and regional CEO Americas Panalpina has just announced that Robert Erni is to become the group's new chief financial officer. Erni held various finance positions at Kuehne + Nagel for the last 19 years, amo...

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FEBRUARY 28, 2012
Costa Allegra under tow, with armed security detail on board Arthur Anderson Associates hires Sean McKee as Marine Electrical Engineer BIW gets $662.9 million contract mod for DDG 116 Rowan plans to move legal domicile from Delaware to U.K. St. Johns Shipbuilding delivers two 25 ft tugs to Australian customer

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FEBRUARY 28, 2012
WTSA member carriers set new round of rate increases Trade between NAFTA partners up during month of December Panalpina makes additions to executive team structure ATA truck tonnage index drops during month of January Federal Maritime Commission proposes rule changes

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FEBRUARY 28, 2012
Balancing fact and fiction Investors are entitled to true balance sheets and profit and loss accounts audited to show a true and fair value of the respective companies Mediterranean aframax fixing rush fails to lift spot market earnings 'Hidden tonnage' could quash incipient upswing Diana Shipping expects long-term dry bulk charter rates to drop by half Newbuilding deliveries will outpace growth in demand, says Margaronis New UK weapons licensing simplifies insurance but could restrict PMSCs With no fines for owners, new terms may have little international impact Politicians focus on Tui and Albert Ballin deal over Hapag Lloyd Opposition parties demand more time for debate and question Hamburg government's spending on higher stake Deep sea imports into north Europe box ports heading lower Global Port Tracker authors project overall deep sea imports growth for 2012 at below 3% and export growth nearer to 5%. Aframax spot cargoes are in decline January fixtures down by a quarter compared to previous year Green groups urge IMO members to extend EEDI to all tonnage Index will cut CO2 emissions only after 2035, say WWF and Carbon War Room KG fund faces bankruptcy after wave of insolvencies and foreclosures Several GHF funds have made forced sales MSC in second round of Asia-Europe rate rises Transpacific lines announce westbound hikes CSCL to borrow $4.3bn boost to working capital Container line secures $4bn from Bank of China and $317m loan from parent China Shipping Group Two seafarers dead in Gulf of Aden mothership shootout Danish navy confirms fatalities Globus reports 12% drop in fourth-quarter profits US-listed owner's average time charter rate falls by nearly a fifth High oil prices will create two-tier charter market, says Huxley Gap will widen between fuel-efficient and fuel-hungry vessels Fishing boat tows stranded Costa cruiseship to Mahé Safety fears force cruise firm to change rescue route Latest OSG quarterly loss narrower than forecast Company says shift in revenue day mix towards product tankers and US-flag business 'fully offsets' crude oil blues APM Terminals co-opts customers to boost efficiency across global portfolio Too little trust and openness between ports and carriers, says Fejfer Transatlantic to downsize industrial fleet as restructuring continues Acquisitions and restructuring costs hit bottom line Diana posts solid profit despite weaker rates Greek bulker owner's fourth-quarter earnings are down by a third S&P downgrades DP World outlook from positive to stable Geographical spread stands terminal operator in good stead, says ratings agency The Japan factor How Asia will fill the ship financing gap - at its own pace Mongolia-flag chemtanker jumps UK detention Paris MoU and Egypt asked to look out for Global Star No clear end in sight for Costa Concordia salvage Oil removal makes steady progress despite weather disruption Cosco (Singapore) wins orders for seven bulkers Company lands deals worth $190m from two buyers in Europe Noble is back in the black But final quarter net profits are still lower on year BLT motors past another debt milestone Company defaults on six instruments Twisted tango Spiteful and petty gestures such as those inflicted on the cruiseships Adonia and Star Princess do nothing to broker a just solution to the Falklands dispute Jinhui slashes management bonuses Fourth-quarter revenues down nearly a third due to weaker charter rates Carnival duo refused Argentina port entry after Falklands call Tensions rise ahead of 30th anniversary of war over British dependencies Tight credit and tough times will change the shape of shipping Banks may yet become shipowners but need help to operate troubled companies

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FEBRUARY 28, 2012
Veto added to the war between the states GOVERNOR Nikki Haley has vetoed an attempt by South Carolina's legislature to overturn a permit allowing expansion of Savannah's port, in Georgia Argentina rejects UK ships ARGENTINA has blocked two UK cruise ships owned by Carnival Corp from docking because they called first at Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands, IHS Global Insight reported today Capacity factor to crimp auto exporters GLOBAL automotive exporters are likely be challenged by more shipping capacity tightening this year, a Bremen forum was told today Adani to build drybulk terminal in Kandla ADANI Ports & Special Economic Zone has agreed to set up a drybulk terminal at Kandla on a build, operate and transfer basis Awilco upbeat after strong 4Q11 AWILCO LNG said today it expects to secure employment for the two ships it has on order and expects the current strong market to continue through 2012 New pipeline spur to GoM confirmed TRANSCANADA will move ahead with the southern spur of its controversial Keystone XL pipeline, a project that could have significant effects on tanker markets 30% scrap rate seen for container ships THREE in 10 box ships operating today will be scrapped within a decade, the Marine Money Hong Kong was told today China could cut iron ore imports by 14% BEIJING might cut imports of iron ore by up to 14% this year, with domestic production rising, the China Mining Association said today New payment ordered in shootings KERALA High Court today directed the owners of the Italian crude tanker Enrica Lexie to deposit 30M rupees ($0.63M) as a guarantee for ship's release OSG's cash dwindles NYSE-listed OSG today reported heavy losses and significant reductions in its cash and liquidity VLGC period hires rise PERIOD hires for VLGCs to transport LPG are rising, with arbitrage opportunities for US exports to Asia opening up India's ports stymied INDIA'S ports were shut down today as part of a national strike Liners winning box bet LINERS' are apparently winning on their proposed general rate increases for March, based on feedback HIS Fairplay received from forwarding agencies Panamax box charters gather pace CHARTERERS are continuing to lock in Panamax box ships for up to a year, capitalising on lower rates to take in bigger ships Permanent bunker tax exemption sought CALIFORNIA lawmakers want to make permanent a sales tax exemption for shipowners that buy marine fuel in the state

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FEBRUARY 28, 2012
ATA Sides With Feds on Electronic Truck Log Recorders The American Trucking Associations is siding with regulators in federal court to support voluntary use of electronic onboard recorders by... White House Creates Center to Protect Exporters The White House on Tuesday announced the formation of a trade enforcement center to ensure exporters' trading rights achieved through... For-Hire Truck Tonnage Dipped 4 Percent in January The freight tonnage carried by for-hire trucks fell 4 percent in January from December, when it surged 6.4 percent, the... NAFTA Surface Trade Up 11.6 Percent in December U.S. surface transportation trade in December with Canada and Mexico totaled $74.2 billion, an 11.6 percent increase from a year... YRC Worldwide Gains Freight, Loses $82.6 Million Increases in freight volume and yield pushed YRC Worldwide's total revenue up 11 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011... APM Terminals to Invest $3 Billion to Gain Market Share APM Terminals plans to invest about $3 billion in infrastructure development and expansion of its global network of terminals in... Trans-Pacific Carriers to Hike Westbound Rates Container ship lines in the Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement have announced rate increases for dry cargoes as they try to... Port Tracker Says Europe Imports to Rise Under 3 Percent Containerized imports to major North Europe ports dropped by nearly 7 percent in the fourth quarter and are expected to... Durable Goods Orders Dipped 4 Percent in January Orders for U.S. durable goods fell 4 percent in January, the biggest decline in three years, following the expiration of... Intra-Asia Carrier Boosts Profit 33.8 Percent Samudera Shipping Line's profit last year rose 33.8 percent year-over-year to $12.6 million, as the Singapore-listed carrier's expansion in Indonesia... MISC Blames $405 Million Loss on Liner Shipping Exit Malaysian shipping group MISC Berhad blames its withdrawal from container shipping for a $405 million loss in the nine-month period... Strike Cripples Operations at India's Port Nehru Operations at the Port of Jawaharlal Nehru (Nhava Sheva) were severely disrupted Tuesday after dock workers at India's largest container...

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FEBRUARY 28, 2012
Adding more colour to red numbers 'No loss should hit us which can be avoided with constant care': a core value of the AP Moller-Maersk Group for more than 60-years. But the past months have surely ... MSC follows Maersk with April 1, Asia - Europe GRI Arguably the biggest threat to Maersk Line's recently declared new move 'towards profitability ahead of further market share gain' strategy, Geneva-headquartered ... Green Reefers reports further losses Bergen-based Green Reefers has posted further losses for its 2011 fiscal year which ended December 31, 2011, albeit on a traduced level to those of 2010.At the ... Bunker costs ease back - for now Rotterdam-sourced IFO 380 fell back below the watershed USD700 per tonne marker in trading this morning, having spiked in line with global oil prices last week ... Tacoma volumes enjoy import boost The US Pacific Northwest port of Tacoma has seen its throughput for January rise year-on-year by 4.1% to 109,597TEU on the back of an encouraging jump in its import ... APM T is the shining star In contrast to some other business unit divisions of the Danish AP Maersk Moller Group, the Hague based APM Terminals has, according to its ceo Kim Fejfer, ... Auckland port strike gets dirty New Zealand, Ports of Auckland chief, Tony Gibson has accused the Maritime Union of threatening Singapore-headquartered container liner operator, Pacific International ... Gulftainer's January boom Sharjah-based Gulftainer has announced a sparkling set of results for January 2012 at its terminals in the UAE. This follows a resilient 2011 when the combined ... Evergreen re-enters ECSA/ECNA tradelane Evergreen intends to re-enter the ECSA/ECNA tradelane on March 22, 2012 by joining Hanjin, HMM and NYK Line's ANS/BEC service, which calls at Norfolk, New York, ... Contargo takes over more of Wincanton's assets Rhenus Logistics has transferred six recently acquired Wincanton inland terminals to its Contargo subsidiary. Contargo has also acquired holdings at three other ...

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FEBRUARY 28, 2012
OSG outlines options Morten Arntzen-led tanker titan considers asset sales, joint ventures, debt and equity issuances as Title XI plans collapse. Solvang slides to loss Oslo-listed LPG specialist stuck in the red in the fourth despite recent strength in the ethylene market. Fire swallows Russian tanker Crewman killed as rescue crews race to extinguish flames onboard ageing products carrier in the Caspian Sea. Genco offering in the bag Peter G's first walk on Wall Street since the collapse of General Maritime ends in victory as bulker owner banks $53m. Finnlines falters Finnish ro-ro owner posts 2011 loss after tough fourth quarter, but freight volumes increase. Globus posts gain CEO of US-listed bulker owner says demand for dry is strong but capacity glut remains a threat. Two dead in Somali shoot-out A couple of hostages killed as Danish navy blocks mothership from heading out to sea. Eidesvik back in black Jan Fredrik Meling-led offshore shipowner cards a minor gain after curbing costs by over 20%. DSX beats bets New York-quoted bulker owner poised for fleet expansion following profitable Q4, analyst says. Maersk gains from gas Danish owner completes disposal of LNG fleet to Teekay and Marubeni for $80m profit. Red run continues for OSG Morten Arntzen-led tanker owner is plotting ways to boost its balance sheet after an eleventh successive quarterly loss.

- Ocean news	web site
FEBRUARY 28, 2012
U.S.-EU regulatory cooperation slow for trade security U.S. Navy completes annual Antarctica resupply Maersk's FM3 speeds up Tougher training proposed for U.S. pilots Maersk slows Asia-West Africa FEW2 MSC raising Asia-Europe rates Haley vetoes Savannah River bill Pilot Freight expands to Canada Centurion selects GSA for Germany Gismondi joins TSC Container Freight

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FEBRUARY 28, 2012
Malaysian terminal set for dry run Terminal is located to the west of the key Asian hub of Singapore, where land available for new terminal projects is scarce. WTSA announces rate increases to stem losses 'With bunker fuel prices now exceeding $750 per metric tonne and bunker accounting for 60% of operating expense on a typical sailing, absorbing any portion of that cost on a sustained basis is not an option.' MEPC 63: Early warning for MBM debate 'Any MBM shall need to differentiate between developing and developed countries' says India. New legal dispute hits bunker project Contractor is suing for overdue payments. BV issues its first EEDI certificate Producing ships which are ahead of industry standards, with optimised fuel consumption and the highest standards of quality and safety. Prices fall in many European ports Gibraltar still experiencing congestion. Fujairah market 'quiet' Good demand in Suez. Istanbul bunker sales climb year-on-year Leading player says port seen as a 'fast and efficient' bunker centre in 'a stable country'. Bulk carrier reports annual loss of $19 million STX Pan Ocean blames high bunker costs and low freight rates. Brightoil sees sales volumes double Bunker supplier reports growth of close to 100% for second year in a row. IFO prices falling in Asian hubs Demand generally sluggish in key Asian bunker ports. Regulated slow steaming could save 'billions,' says study Limiting average ship speeds to 85% of 2007's level could save between $178 to $617 billion. Hapag-Lloyd 'first' to have entire fleet EDDI certified Many vessels in Hapag-Lloyd's fleet 'better' than others in similar class. Golar adds two more tri-fuel newbuilds With 13 newbuilds, Golar secures a 'strategic unequal position' to meet demand in fast growing LNG industry, says company chairman. Singapore-based firm converts HFO boiler into dual fuel Only 'limited number' of companies able to offer technology and equipment, says Harris Pye spokesman. Refining capacity removal 'benefitting' Essar's Stanlow facility Essar's newly acquired Stanlow refinery contributes $3.9 billion sales in the five months ended December 11, 2011.